BBC News with Jonathan Izard

The French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he'll press ahead with pension reforms despite widespread protests. Mr Sarkozy said the plans which include raising the state retirement age from 60 to 62 were essential. Truck drivers and striking oil workers have been blockading roads and fuel depots. A member of the truckers' federation, Thierry Cordier, said its action would force the government to pay attention.

"It's true that it's going to impact people getting to school, but you don't make omelettes without breaking eggs. The government is deaf. It doesn't want to hear anything. It doesn't want to see anything. Well, it's going to see what the street tells it."

Petrol stations in some parts of France have begun running out of fuel. There have also been street protests which have turned violent in some areas.

The United States has called on China to act against Chinese companies it says are bypassing United Nations sanctions to help Iran with its nuclear programme and missile technology. When the sanctions were passed at the UN earlier this year, Western countries expressed concerns that companies pulling out of Iran would leave a vacuum that Chinese firms might try to exploit.

Here is our State Department correspondent Kim Ghattas.

A senior US official has confirmed to the BBC that Washington provided Beijing with a list of Chinese companies it believes are breaching UN sanctions against Iran. The US official said China had pledged it was committed to implementing UN resolutions against Iran. The American official also said Washington expected Beijing to take the appropriate steps to stop the Chinese companies from helping Iran to improve its missile technology and its nuclear programme. It's believed that the Chinese authorities did not authorize the activity of the companies. Chinese officials said they would investigate.